Peter Laviolette

Perhaps, it was a look at what the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals has in store for the Flyers and Penguins. 60 minutes of full throttle hockey with the addition of the playoffs, and the hockey world will be in store for another classic Flyers/Penguins series.

Sunday afternoon's battle - as well as one more game next Saturday afternoon to finish the season - was a preview of the almost inevitable 4/5-seed match up between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Meeting for the second time in three days, the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils will close out a home-and-home set when they faceoff tonight at Wells Fargo Center.

In their meeting on Sunday, Martin Brodeur and a tight Devils defensive scheme held the Flyers in check for two thirds of the game until Claude Giroux tied it just sixteen seconds into the third period.

That would last all of 2:30 seconds as Anton Volchenkov scored to give the Devils the lead and they never looked back.

However, in Thursday night’s 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Meszaros looked like the player Philadelphia fans were introduced to last year after he joined the team in an offseason trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Physical, fast and engaged, Meszaros put together what was arguably his best game of the season.

It was something fans of the Philadelphia Flyers hadn’t seen all season.

Following the team’s 1-0 shootout loss to the New York Islanders, the team dropped their third consecutive game for the first time all year.

However, that wasn’t the only first of the night.

Considering how inconsistent Philadelphia’s goaltending has been this season, instances where the team’s net minder has stood on his head have been few and far between.

On Tuesday night, that wasn’t the case.

Prior to the two-round shootout that saw both Frans Nielson and John Tavares ice the game for the Islanders, the 65-minutes that led up to the glorified skills competition was an unabashed goaltender duel.

Even the most casual of fans can tell you that Wayne Simmonds is the classic example of the kind of athlete that Philadelphia fans love to call their own.

Hardworking, physical and largely underappreciated away from Philly, Simmonds is the kind player that doesn’t always come to the forefront of your mind when discussing skills, but is always number one when you talk about heart.

However, that doesn’t mean that Simmonds doesn’t have skills.

Although it may not be his forte, it’s ill advised to underestimate the 23-year old’s ability to contribute to the offensive phase of the game.

This was made evident on Thursday night when the gritty forward scored two goals against the Nashville Predators.